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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Tasty Tucson Tour: Presidio and tortilla making

It's only fitting that at the end of my time here it Tucson, I go back to the beginning of Tucson's history. The Presidio San Agustin del Tucson was the original site of Tucson, built around 1775. The original Presidio was an 11-acre fortress that provided protection for the farmers who lived along the Santa Cruz River. Spanish colonist, Native Americans and later, "Yanquis" or Yankee soldiers occupied the land. Little did the original settlers know that they built their fortress over the remains on Native American pithouses dating back to 800 B.C.

The original fortress was lost long ago, but a small section of it has been rebuilt in what is now the downtown area of Tucson. I went over there to take a lesson in tortilla making from Beatriz Jimenez, who learned the art from her mother and has been perfecting her craft since she was 19. When we completed our try and the tortilla, we topped them with homemade prickly pear jam. It was delicious!

Her recipe for flour tortillas is below and the slideshow gives step by step instructions. You can try and make the tortillas by hand or using a rolling pin, although Beatriz scoffed at this method. Remember that the smaller you make the initial dough balls, the smaller your tortillas and therefore, the easier they are to form.

Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Rub shortening with fingertips until well blended. Add water gradually, stirring constantly until mixture pulls away from side of bowl and forms a ball. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth (about two minutes). Divide into 16 equal pieces, shape into small balls and cover with a damp towel.

Prepare as instructed in the slideshow. You can cook these in an ungreased cast-iron skillet.

*** This is my first slideshow, please let me know if it isn't working.